The One-Way Elevator (part 3)
Posted on Mon Dec 21st, 2015 @ 2:38pm by Captain T'mpest Michaels & Commander Rylie Cattmor & Lieutenant Commander Orin ch’Valri & Lieutenant Commander Morai Keen & Chief Petty Officer Jack 'Crow' Addy
Edited on on Mon Dec 21st, 2015 @ 3:28pm
1,468 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission: A Civil Act
[CONTINUED]
[OLD]
Jack's expression shifted from fun to stern as he raised a brow at the question. "Am I..." He chuckled slight, than some more. Soon he was cackling, holding his stomach as he threw his head back in middle laugh. Suddenly, and abruptly, he stopped, locking eyes with Rylie again. His expression was back to being stern. "You have no idea what I am capable of, Chief. I'm a decorated Sharpshooter. Field Medic. Tactician. Not to mention, I'm batty as hell, or at least that's what the paperwork from Starfleet thats on my wall says. There aren't that many things I am afraid of in this world. My wife, she's scary. The Boss, he's scary. This mission is nothing. It's a walk in the park for this Roughneck, Ma'am. I've worked through the worst of the worst and survived places Starfleet Officers, and yourself, would leave you cringing in your boots. And the whole time, I've come out with a smile on my pretty little face. I am a Starfleet Marine, Ma'am. I fear nothing because I know, when I die, I'll be joining my fellow warriors on their coup of Hell itself. We Marines don't die, Commander, we regroup." He stopped and quickly lost the stern voice and face. Jack began smiling again as his whole tone and demeanor changed. "Now as far as joining the fun. All I am saying, Chief, is maybe we should go down armed and dangerous. More dangerous than anything else."
[NEW]
=^= You are putting yourself and your escort in danger." Keen said calmly. "You do realize this will reflect on you if you follow these actions? I will be forced to act upon the situation accordingly; I advise waiting for the booster and not to go into unnecessary danger.=^= Keen's voice came over the communicator.
"This planet's dead, commander, there's no foreseeable danger here." Rylie responded. "Just get those boosters, or transceivers, or whatever down here now; we'll take care of the rest."
=^= It is being done and will be there in a few moments Commander. Just some simple modifications. =^= Keen explained. =^= Best to be on the side of caution. =^=
"Agreed, thank you, commander." Rylie responded. "Just keep the ship in one piece. Cattmor out." she said before tapping her com-badge again to close the channel.
Rylie couldn't help but roll her eyes internally as Jack ran through a few scenarios that would have her 'cringing in her boots' as he put it; a lot of her time on Athera only the authorities knew, her memory still a blank; other times, she'd seen some weird and terrifying shit and had no intention discussing the fact, especially since it appeared that Starfleet's profile on Mister Addy seemed right on the money. "Well, let's not lock-and-load just yet... let's just see what happens."
"I think locking and loading is a brilliant idea, Chief. We should have the ship beam down every weapon imaginable. Phaser Rifles. Disruptor Cannons. Grenades, cuz the Boss took mine, and Twinkies. A footlocker full of Twinkies because those things are everlasting. Not to mention, in case of nuclear fallout and zombie apocalypse, they make a delicious treat."
"Not that I even know what a twinkie is, Chief, but whatever happened here, I don't think we're in danger of any nuclear fallouts, or zombie apocalypses, or the local B and L running out of supplies, so we should be able to rough it for a while, don't you?"
"I don't know, Ma'am. Those zombies are clever buggers. They seem slow and stupid, but when you start shooting at them suddenly they turn into the Starfleet Track Team and you're running for the nearest building to lock yourself in. All the while your group is running the other way and find themselves cornered and out of bullets. Your only shot is a whiny kind in a Sheriff's hat and some lady with dread locks and a samurai sword. The cool dude in the bikers vest and crossbow decided to drive off because he's the big bad loner of the group and he isn't around and-" Jack paused in mid sentence, looking over to Rylie confused. "Wait. What were we talking about?"
"You have no idea, Chief." She said plainly as she pressed the button to recall the lift. "Let's go."
=^= You are putting yourself and your escort in danger." Keen said calmly. "You do realize this will reflect on you if you follow these actions? I will be forced to act upon the situation accordingly; I advise waiting for the booster and not to go into unnecessary danger."
"This planet's dead, commander, there's no foreseeable danger here." Rylie responded. "Just get those boosters, or transceivers, or whatever down here now; we'll take care of the rest."
=^= It is being done and will be there in a few moments Commander. Just some simple modifications. =^= Keen explained. =^= Best to be on the side of caution. =^=
"Agreed, thank you, commander." Rylie responded. "Just keep the ship in one piece. Cattmor out." she said before tapping her com-badge again to close the channel.
__
// Back on the elevator
The elevator made its slow descent for several moments, or what should have taken them down a dozen flights of stairs. But then, as before, the button receded, replaced again by a solid panel. Then it began to accelerate as it continued its rapid descent into the planet.
After a while, the elevator slowed and came to a stop.
The doors opened onto a large room with a counter around three walls. On the far side was another door.
Orin removed his phaser and looked over to the others. "Stay behind." He said as he took a step forward and held his phaser out, his eyes still trained on the closed doors.
When they got close enough the doors opened to reveal a wide parapet that ran along the side of the room they exited and down to two nearby buildings. In front of them lay an underground city. The parapet was a kilometer above the ground, level with a series of parapets and walkways that ran between the buildings. Above the buildings, free space continued for another click.
Standing by the railing was T'mpest.
Orin walked over to T'mpest and stood by her, crossing his arms over his chest sternly as he looked out in the same direction she did. "You see. Everyone thought Mister Addy was going to be the one to do something unwise. Turns out it was you." He said softly, looking over to her as a slight smirk appeared on his face. "As glad as I am to see you are alright, I hope your trip was at least worth it."
T'mpest turned to Orin. "It was worth it, but I had no idea..." She shook her head. "It was illogical and unwise."
"I understand the need to explain, T'mpest. To discover things and accumulate knowledge, but when you're in new territory with no idea of whats ahead of you, wandering off by yourself is always a risk. You were lucky this time, we all were, but your safety is paramount. Safety which is in my hands." Orin said softly just as the group began to approach. "If you feel the need to explore again, please let me accompany you at least."
T'mpest nodded. "It seemed the right thing to do at the time, but I will make sure you are with me if I find myself in a similar situation."
She turned to look at the buildings again. Each had its own lighting, filling the underground with light. "It is beautiful to look at, but feels so ... empty. Like the surface, there are no signs of life here."
"To the naked eye it seems empty, but I thought someone with your background has learned to look beneath what you see?" Orin said softly as he looked to her and than back to the barren underground city. "You can learn more about where people have been than where they are. All you have to do is know where to look. Just because it's empty doesn't mean it still can't speak to us."
"Of course. That is why I came here," she said. "But I had hoped..." She shook her head. "I had hoped there would be people here, that they had left the surface to live here. Now we not only need to find out what happened to the people on the surface, but what happened here, and why the elevator only goes one way."
____
OFF
CPO Jack "Crow" Addy
Medic
Lieutenant Commander Morai Keen
Chief Counselor
Commander Rylie Cattmor
Executive Officer
Lieutenant Commander Orin ch'Valri
Chief Security Officer
Captain T'mpest Michaels
Commanding Officer
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